Government

Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy met with government officials in Australia and New Zealand this week, requesting that the two nations issue visa bans against Cambodian People’s Party officials and their families in response to the arrest of opposition head Kem Sokha for treason. ...

The government spent far less than half of its approved $5 billion budget for expenditures in 2017 during the first six months of the year, according to a new report by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). ...

The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) announced yesterday that it plans to support the growth of NGO-backed community saving groups in a move to help members of these currently unregulated groups establish funding pools that can be accessed without the need for collateral. ...

Government mouthpiece Fresh News yesterday launched a new internet radio service, appearing poised to move into the gap left by a government crackdown on independent broadcasters over the last six weeks. ...

The Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that the ongoing detention of opposition leader Kem Sokha was legal, despite claims his parliamentary immunity had been violated – and in spite of the fact that neither the accused nor his representatives were present. ...

Business confidence among EuroCham Cambodia’s predominantly European member companies fell this year as a result of a lack of positive reforms and uncertainty surrounding upcoming elections, according to a survey released yesterday. ...

Since the widely condemned arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha on “treason” charges this month, at least a dozen Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers have left the country, though a senior party official yesterday insisted they would “return soon”. ...

A centre to improve the standard and quality of agricultural products, especially vegetables, will be set up in Kandal province soon, the director of the provincial agriculture department said yesterday. ...

Cambodia and Bangladesh are seeking to strengthen cooperation on trade and enhance and expand trade and business partnerships via a deal which will be signed in October. ...

Cambodia as a member of the six-nation Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) endorsed a five-year action plan framework that includes $64 billion in projects to help the sub-region achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. ...

The floodgates of the largest and most controversial dam project in the country’s history officially closed yesterday at an inauguration ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who took aim at environmentalists, ambassadors and NGOs in a wide-ranging speech. ...

Cambodia and China reached here yesterday six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in order to further tighten and expand the cooperation between the two countries. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen and visiting H.E. Liu Yunshan, ...

A group of eight U.S. congressmen has called on the State Department to continue its public condemnation of the continuing crackdown on dissent and arrest of the leader of the opposition in Cambodia. ...

The Interior Ministry on Friday announced it had stricken critical environmental NGO Mother Nature from its registry, effective immediately, with the group saying it had requested the move and would continue to investigate sand dredging and export violations in the country’s southwest despite the de-registration. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday ratcheted up his attacks on the United States, announcing that he had instructed the Immigration Department to check for American “spies” and suggesting the US Embassy pull out its Peace Corps volunteers. ...

US-based energy giant General Electric (GE) hopes to finalise an agreement with the Ministry of Mines and Energy by November that would see the Kingdom’s coal and gas plants using emissions-monitoring technology for the first time, company executives said yesterday. ...

The National Election Committee yesterday said voter registration was progressing slower than expected, largely due to migrant workers not registering – an issue that advocates have urged the electoral body to remedy for months. ...

A small community in Siem Reap province’s Chong Kneas commune is adamant about getting global recognition for their unique fermented fish paste, or prahoc, after the government endorsed a national standard for the most distinctive ingredient in Khmer cooking. ...

Stung Treng provincial authorities held a meeting with the Mines and Energy Ministry on Wednesday to find ways to convince people refusing to leave their homes near the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam to accept compensation and vacate their land before Prime Minister Hun Sen ...

The Transport Ministry has asked all transportation companies not to hike fees over the Pchum Ben festival next week. The request was accompanied by a plea for all drivers to obey the rules of the road over the festival, which sees thousands of Cambodians return to ...

For the city’s homeless, Phnom Penh’s busy intersections, pagodas, markets and tourist sites are places of work, where many beg for money, and often lay their heads. Others drag carts or bags around the capital, collecting recyclable waste and scrap materials to sell. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen hit back yesterday in response to United States visa sanctions by saying Cambodia would no longer assist in finding and repatriating the remains of American soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from a three-day trip to China yesterday, all but confirming in a statement what observers have long theorised: that Cambodia now sees China’s backing as a bulwark against Western criticisms over its rights record. ...

A Ministry of Interior directive requiring provincial approval for work done on commune halls prompted a thinly veiled threat from a ministry spokesman yesterday that a popular opposition commune chief could be arrested if she didn’t comply. ...